My Story

I had a "Celebrity FUE" procedure at Dr. Parsa Mohebi's office yesterday in Encino, CA. This is my initial post and will detail my journey with this procedure. I will continue to post occasionally until the final result is achieved.
About Celebrity FUE / Unshaven FUE Procedures
For those who don't know, "Celebrity FUE" is the term Dr. Mohebi has used to describe what is also known as a "non-shaved FUE procedure." On his website, he details both that this is a non-shaved procedure, that "the Celebrity FUE technique allows patients to keep their hair long during their procedure." I have attached screenshots of these statements to this post. At this time of writing, there is also a video on his Celebrity FUE page which says, "we don't cut, trim, or shave any hair."
Why I Chose Dr. Parsa Mohebi
As a public health professional, my top priority is to conceal my hair transplant from my patients while also getting good results. I had initially booked an FUE procedure with Dr. John Diep, but Dr. Diep told me he would need to shave the baby hairs on my hairline to implant the grafts. Although I admired his results more than anyone else I had seen within the US, ultimately, his statement led to me canceling the procedure with him. After reviewing many, many other surgeons, I scheduled a consultation with Dr. Mohebi., who I had bookmarked from my prior search - specifically because he offers a "Celebrity FUE" procedure. It was the most expensive of options I could have chosen, but concealing the transplant was critical to me, even if the results might not be as ideal to me - as long as it was good enough. Another selling point to me was that he said, as he does on his website, that "80% of transplanted grafts will already have your longer hair."
During the consultation, I was assured like the videos that there would be no cutting of my current hair so that I could completely conceal the transplant. Additionally, when I asked Dr. Mohebi if he performs the surgery himself, he said straightforwardly said "yes." He reinforced that the grafts would be of my longer hair and said I would see a good preview of what my hair would look like after the full results were achieved. Not only was this attractive to me because I could conceal the transplant, but also potentially pull off a more enhanced hair look for the first month after the surgery.
Surgery Day / The Experience
The meeting I had with him in-person the day before the procedure went well. We examined my loss pattern with a microscope and determined the density of various areas, particularly the donor area. I showed him pictures of my hair loss progression over two decades (starting at 16 years old, I'm now about to turn 36). We created a long-term plan for my hair restoration that included potentially rebuilding the temples at some point (though not necessary) and thickening the crown and vertex at a later date when it is needed.
When I arrived the next morning to begin the surgery, he asked me if we could trim my baby hairs around my hairline. Whenever anyone says trim, it means literally to trim - not shave or buzz off. Even though I did not give consent to this on the written forms, I said yes verbally because I knew he was indicating that doing so would provide optimal results for incision and inserting the grafts. He then told me there would be a few ladies assisting him during the procedure. I imagined these assistants would help with graft harvesting and counting.
Once I was in the chair, I was sedated with laughing gas and one Valium. Once sedated, he requested "the clippers" from one of the technicians and buzzed off about a half-inch all around the hairline on my crown - my hairline now resembling an old Nicholas Cage. I was not happy, but it was too late, I was sedated, and there was no point in pulling out at this point. Once I was fully sedated, Dr. Mohebi used his syringe to provide me with good local anesthesia as needed. The pain was more minimal than a regular injection you would receive from a lab technician doing bloodwork.
Dr. Mohebi then began extracting a number of grafts from my donor area using a tool that made drilling-like noises - the puncher, I assume. I do not believe this tool was used on extracting all of my grafts, and Dr. Mohebi himself did not extract all of my grafts. After a short period of time, probably around a half hour, and while my head was now positioned down facing the floor, I stopped hearing his voice but felt the work continuing. When I asked what was happening and where Dr. Mohebi went, the four female technicians said "he has left to do other things while we catch up for him with the graft removal and placement process." This process continued, largely without Dr. Mohebi for the remaining 9 hours of the 10 hour surgery. The female technicians continued to chat with each other thoroughout the surgery. Dr. Mohebi would check in about once every two hours for about five or ten minutes to see how things were going, usually to administer more local anesthesia (I assume the technicians are not able to do this). Once he came in and rotated a couple of grafts that one of his technicians had inserted for him, I heard him say "these here need to be turned around." I was not happy with this process since I was told he would be conducting the surgery and there was no mention of technicians who would essentially be doing the whole procedure for him - technicians whose credentials I have no knowledge of and that I was not able to evaluate prior to my surgery. It is my understanding that all graft removal and placements are critical to the outcome results of the surgery. I would say Dr. Mohebi was in the room for a total of less than one hour for the ten hour procedure, and often for only 5-10 minutes at a time, usually to administer more local anesthesia. I did not vocalize my unhappiness during the procedure. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a stink while a group of people are operating on my head whose mood/focus I might affect. But I was not happy. A significant amount of the hair that I use for coverage of my temples had been buzzed off, and the process of the surgery was not what I was told it would be. I could have seen Dr. Diep for the same offered procedure (a buzzing of my baby hairs with FUE grafts) for thousands of dollars less and more density/grafts! The extra precautions I had requested be taken with Dr. Mohebi to conceal my operation and keep my hair have not only been been compromised, but disregarded when the doctor knew this was my top priority. Additionally, though he told me in an email prior that 80% of the grafts would contain my longer hair so I could see a preview of the results, he said at the end of the surgery that only half of the implanted grafts had hair. The hairs that were there were not my full length either, so it seemed pointless to me that we did this method of a procedure at all.
The procedure itself was not painful. The four female technicians were very polite, though it did bother me that I had no idea they would be performing the surgery and what their experience/credentials were, if they were rented assistants, etc.... There were a couple of bad (i.e. mildly painful) punches that happened on occasion, but it was so minor that it barely registered. The most uncomfortable part was the pressure on my forehead from laying forward for a long time, and my hands/arms would go numb from laying them underneath my chest. I took three breaks in total throughout the 10 hour surgery - one of them for lunch, and the other two to use the bathroom.
In total, I received 1567 grafts. Of those grafts, roughly 338 were triples, another 950 were doubles, and 279 were singles.
I was given Valium, some extra strength Tylenol, and Prednisone to help me through the first days of recovery.
Next Day Follow-up Meeting
In my follow-up meeting the next day, one of the technicians from the surgery showed me how to wash my hair for the next four days. I felt the post-operation procedures were explained to me thoroughly.
Finally, I met once more with Dr. Mohebi for about 10 minutes. I told him that I had a comfortable surgery experience with minimal pain, and that I was looking forward to seeing how the results turned out, but that I was very disappointed with how much of my hair was buzzed (not trimmed), which would compromise the concealing of my hair transplant, and also that I didn't appreciate how he told me he would do the surgery but in the end his technicians did. Although I could tell he was trying to remain professional in his response, he was quite defensive. At one point, he told me "I was there for most of the procedure, you just didn't see me because your head was down." I told him I knew this wasn't true because I heard every time he entered and left the room, and that I confirmed his absence with the technicians. He looked surprised. He then told me at least he did all of my graft extractions and incisions. I told him this was also not 100% true, because the technicians told me they were continuing to do extractions for him while he was gone. He then told me it was in my best interest to not have him insert my grafts anyway, because "I am not good at graft insertion. When I try to do it, my technicians laugh at me." I believe he continued to minimize his role in selling me on a procedure that did not meet our shared understanding and agreement. Finally, he was able to say: "I'm sorry. Thank you for your feedback. I will certainly consider it in how I advertise this procedure going forward."
I was calm and rational with him throughout this conversation, but I was pretty upset with the accruing dishonesty made by this man, further reinforced by his responses to me during the conversation. I made my point clear though: I was lied to about the details of the procedure. My remaining hair looks drastically different and will not provide the coverage or natural lift as an unshaven head would have provided to conceal the operation, which is what we were going for. Far fewer implanted hairs are in place, and the ones that are look out of place. He told me he would be performing the surgery. He did not mention it would be completed by technicians nor that he his involvement would be minimal, let alone that he is "not good at graft insertion." I paid $21,000 for this procedure. I could have achieved 2000-2500 grafts with Diep for the same process of a procedure (and he was honest with me about it). I believe I was sold with a bait and switch approach here, and that hurts, given how much trust, vulnerability, and investment goes into this process. Had me told me from the first consultation when I asked him my questions and said, "we may need to shave part of your hair for optimal results, and my technicians do most of the work," then I could have made a more educated choice. I'm more than sure he was aware of this. These doctors are salesmen and marketers too, not just surgeons.
Having said all of this, I do look forward to seeing how the results come out. I really do. I like the hairline that Dr. Mohebi drew for me. In 12 months I am hopeful that I will feel happier with my appearance than I do today. If the results are good, which I am hopeful they may be, it will be a significant improvement to my self-esteem and long-term concerns about my hair. But it doesn't change the facts of what happened, the bait-and-switch tactics, and the enormous additional cost to have a procedure done that did not do what it said it would do or performed by who said he would perform it.
The procedure itself was not painful. What is painful is that the top reason I chose this particular procedure and to pay the incredibly high cost for its specialty approach was pointless. Not to mention the emotional pain of putting my trust, vulnerability, and a high premium financial investment into a procedure that could have been replicated cheaper and with an outcome that I believe would have been more desirable. And so regardless of my final results here, which I hope are good, it won't erase the reality of what has transpired here. I believe that I had the right to have the realistic process explained to me given my questions, concerns, and priorities for having the procedure with Dr. Parsa Mohebi.
I will continue to post and update on my progress over the months ahead. I have attached pictures for exhibit of what is currently advertised as a Celebrity FUE procedure on his website, along with an email exchange, and pre-op pics of my hair and now post-op pics of my hair. While it is too late to go back in time, and although l am upset and have lost more money (and potentially though hopefully not compromised my results), my hope is that for those of you reading this you will realize how important it is to ask every little detail about the procedure. Even when I asked "will you be performing the procedure?" and received an immediate and straightforward "yes," it was later minimized and defended post-op by him saying "but I was there." We need more transparency and honesty in marketing. When it's not there, one cannot help but wonder why.

Hello everyone. I have been meaning to make this thread but have honestly been both busy and lazy. I have been scouring this website for a few months now and have been checking out a lot of peoples progress and completed work. I am glad this exists and want to share my current experience with the community.
I am 34 years old and had a FUE done in Las Gatos, California (near San Francisco) by Dr. John Diep on May 23rd, 2018 to the frontal 1/3rd of my head. I began noticing my hair loss slowly when I was 27 years old. I started receding slowly and then the crown started going fast. I used minoxidil from 2011 to 2013 but I kept losing hair but not as quickly as before. I got tired of it and stopped. I started randomly searching on youtube about hairloss solutions and disguises and that eventually lead me to toppik. I started using toppik to cover my crown and i was okay with it. Then when my hairline started disappearing, I would start adding toppik there. It was good for some time and then the hairloss was too drastic. I now started noticing people looking at my hairline when they were talking to me and I felt like they knew something was up. It looked clumpy instead of like real hair strands. So then I began buzzing my hair with a 2 guard and developed a light sprinkle technique to give the illusion that I had a full head of hair with the buzz cut. I eventually got tired of it because like all of you know, it became a daily worry with all of environmental elements and with people wanting to run their hands on the buzz cut. I also got tired of always wearing hats when I didn't have the toppik on my head.
I then started doing some serious research for the last 4 years before I actually pulled the trigger. I was choosing between Dr. Lindsey (he is 45 minutes from me in Virginia), Dr. Feriduni ( in Belgium), Dr. Koray Erdogan (Turkey) and Dr. Diep. I ended up choosing Dr. Diep mainly because of his amazing fue hairlines and for that fact that he is in the US.
I am not going to type a write up about the day of the procedure because its exactly like what most people have described in their Diep threads. I will say that everything went well and I was pretty much knocked out for 10 hours minus lunch.
I was initially told that he would be able to get 2,500 grafts but he ended up extracting 2,381. He was going to do some temple work but since he didn't get the 2,500 grafts, he ended up not doing it. I didn't know this until after the procedure but that makes sense since I was pretty sedated. I also opted to get the A-cell done.
I am currently at 6 months and am a bit nervous with the progress (I know this the time where everyone tends to get anxious according to the forums). I know I am a slow grower on the top of my head because I was the same way when I had a full head of hair. There is definitely significant improvement of my hair line, its actually quite dramatic. My only issue is that I don't see a lot of density and I see a lot of big spaces where grafts initially seemed to be placed. I am not going to freak out or anything until after 1 year. I have read on this forum that some people saw a lot of new growth at around 9 months and on. I know the hair also begins thickens up then so I'll just wait and see and post monthly progress pictures. Side note, I know I am going to need 1 or 2 more HTs for full coverage on the rest of my head.
I am not on any medication other than daily biotin. I wanted to get yalls opinion on Propecia and your honest blunt opinions about my progress so far. Thanks a lot and I am excited to be a contributor to this forum and of course experience my progress and results with yall.
Top 3 pictures are pre op
Top 4 pictures are 2 hours post op
1 day post op after a cleaning at his office
3 days post op and my face is swollen
9 days post op with scabbing
10 days post op
12 days post op. All the scabs have fallen.
6 months. Pictures taken this morning. I was buzzing my hair until the first week of October. This is my hair growth since then, about 6 weeks. I am not cutting my hair until the year mark.
Hair at 18
Hair at 22
Hair at 28. You can see the front receding.

BACKGROUND
I'm in my late 20s and started receding around the age of 18. my scalp is very light compared to my forehead. my natural hairline sat right on the line where the pigmentation changed color. (Pictured) I stalked these forums regularly but never posted until recently. I'm Latino with African/Italian ancestry, my hair grows straight for about .5cm before it curls over. I'm located in NY
Moving Forward
I consulted online or in person with various doctors that were recommended on these forums the likes of (Arocha, Bloxham, Diep, Vories, and Frank). after many Q&As with each I felt most comfortable with Dr.Arocha in Texas.
I flew to TX on Thursday met him and the staff that same day we went over my loss and future strategies as well as design. He recommended a higher hairline than the one I received based on the rule of thirds which I understood but felt it wasn't near my original hairline. we agreed on a lower line (pictured)
The Big Day
After medications and local numbing was administer a strip was taken from back of the head – 3140 grafts were harvested. Dr. Arocha mentioned he was aiming for 40 grafts cm2 coverage and that my hair was straight at short length. He did the strip removal, stitching and incisions at recipient site. Technicians did the graft cutting and placement.
The procedure was done on FRIDAY I was very pleased with the service. everyone from medical staff and administration were very welcoming and ensure I had an excellent operation. it was to such extent that Dr. Arocha came in on Saturday to review the post op and ensure things were okay. he even gave me a tour of the city in his personal car. he even had one staff member come in on Saturday - the same day as her son's birthday just in case some work was needed (thanks Michelle). On Sunday (Father’s Day) he called to check up on me. Again, I’m extremely pleased with the service. Has
First week post op
I had swelling which is normal which has gone down considerably between days 4-7. I have followed the post op instructions to the T. I have used the shampoo and bacitracin provided by the Doctor as per instructed no harsh touching and trickle water.
I feel like the treatment and operation were world class and I’m inclined to use the doctor again
Pictures posted include my original hairline, my baldness pattern, hairline design and post op results at day 5/6. Please contact for any questions I will maintain this thread with my progression.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS

Hey all, I'm a 34 year old guy with fine blonde hair that has receded at the hairline and temples a decent amount. I've been perusing this site off and on for years now and have finally decided to pull the trigger on a procedure. I originally was scheduled to go to Belgium for a procedure, but do to the climate of the world these days, have elected to go a different route. I didn't make that decision with ease, as I've seen great surgeries coming out of Belgium, Turkey, and Spain. However, I live in the California Bay Area and have been following Dr John Diep's results closely, and have been impressed. I am of course nervous about the outcome of the procedure, but have been on the fence for far too long and feel like it's time to go for it.
Dr Diep quoted me about 2500 grafts FUE. With all the research I've done, that was about what I was expecting. The fact that my hair is so fine makes me think that I'm going to need 2 surgeries for the density that I want, but so be it if it ends up looking the way that I want it to. I'm also concerned about the temples looking natural. That seems to be one of the more difficult things for surgeons and the techs to get right. Again though, I've seen some good ones come from Diep's office.
While I've mostly seen positive things from Dr Dieps office, I've seen some negative posts on here from a few years back as well, both of which I believe were FUT. I actually called and am going in for a second consultation with Diep next week to ask questions about his techs, my hairline design, how big of a punch they will use, expected yield, etc. My HT is currently scheduled for Feb 18, so just over a month away.
Would love to hear back from past Diep patients or anyone with fine lighter colored hair who's had FUE done to restore hairline and temples.

Hi guys,
Long time listener, first time caller. I’m not long back from Istanbul where I had an FUE hair transplant procedure with Dr Resul Yaman. I thought it might be helpful to some to give a full overview of what to expect and also as objective a review as possible of the experience. If you want to cut to the chase then scroll down where there will be some key points and photos.
I had 4,100 grafts in total over a single day. This comprised:
Single - 627
Double - 2,491
Multiple - 982
So my calculation is that I received between 8,500 and 9,000 individual hairs to deal with diffuse balding, approximate Norwood 5A.
I’m 32 years old and currently around Forward 5A. I had noticed thinning at 24 although looking at photos it was actually going a little before then. It’s been a painful and slow journey, working my way through the various preventative products, combovers, thickening fibres and more recently a skinhead too. I’d been on the fence about this for a while, knowing deep down it was the only way to have a proper head of hair, but just didn’t want to be one of *those* guys. I mean, surely I am not so precious about my looks that I’d actually get surgery!? What next, a nose job? Veneers? Penis reduction? (Sometimes I get it caught between my knees). Thankfully I discovered this forum so realised that hair transplants aren’t solely for preening, prima donnas and that normal people can get it done too. PHEW!
In mid 2018 decided enough was enough and started my research. I did a lot, checked out clinics in the UK, Spain, Belgium and turkey. Read a lot of forums, watched videos. Did consultations online, in person and had some phonecalls too. Got lots of information thrown at me, much of it conflicting. Got quoted everything between £1,500 and €12,000. Some people thought 3,000 grafts would cover the full head of hair. Some people thought 2,500 would cover just the front and I could come back in a year for the back. Someone said the only way to cover my full head would be FUT.
A brief synopsis of the countries is that Belgium is world class, but pricey. The UK costs as much as Belgium but there are still some shady doctors about so choose wisely. Spain is cheaper than those two and has some decent doctors but there isn’t a lot of information on it. Turkey came out top being very affordable, with lots of information available about it and has some amazing doctors, but also a lot of very questionable practices.
I decided upon Dr Resul Yaman in the end based on a number of factors. The communication was good, there was enough honest feedback (including some that isn’t exactly gleaming) online as well as proof of complications being resolved, lots of videos and testimonials and the package seemed fair. The offer was €4,000 for 4,000 grafts plus PRP, aftercare, hotel and transfers. There was also a guarantee that if 10% or more of it failed that I could get a top up done at no extra cost. I might have got a better job with a €12,000 Belgian effort (I’ll never know) but I simply couldn’t justify the extra cost - If that was my only option, I’d just have to deal with being bald. So Yaman it was, I was confident that this would get me the result I wanted at a justifiable price.
I arrived into the airport on Thursday night after a smooth flight and was picked up and taken to a nice 5 star hotel (Divan G Suites). One tip would be to check where the clinic is as Dr Yaman’s hospital and the hotel are both close to Ataturk, and I flow in to Sabiha Gökçen - an hour away. D'oh! However, not a major issue as there’s a lot to look at on the drive people carrier thing was pretty pimp.
The room was nice, a good 3 course meal with drink would come in at under £20 (and I presume this would be similar most places in Istanbul) and the included breakfast was fairly standard. It wasn’t particularly busy although this was due to the time of year and the staff were friendly. There were a few other guys with bandages on their heads too, which made me feel less worried about what was to come. I live in London and so never carry cash, however I did feel like a complete cheapskate when I didn’t tip (they couldn’t take this by card) so it wouldn’t hurt to get some Lira for that purpose. Also, if you learn to say ‘hello’ and ‘thanks’ in Turkish then they really appreciate it, even when your pronunciation is as bad as mine (tu-say-coor-ler). There’s a spa and a pool which is free to use although I didn’t have time and the WiFi is about as good as you get in any hotel - enough to watch Netflix although it will need to buffer every now and then.
The next morning after breakfast I was picked up at 11am and driven to the hospital. It’s a nice clean building with Yaman’s name outside. It looks like there’s a number of clinics in there offering different services but Dr. Yaman specialises exclusively in hair transplant which was important to me. There was a chap waiting for a wash, and one other guy in that day for surgery and the rest was his staff. What was also important to me was that Dr. Yaman wasn’t doing tonnes of procedures on the day and that whilst technicians/surgeons/nurses are involved, he takes personal involvement and oversees the procedure.
I met with Fikret who had been my contact in the run up to the procedure. He’d been very patient via email and explained everything, answered all of my questions without forcing a hard sell and ultimately played a large part in me going with Dr Yaman. He was just as good in person, quite witty and conversational - I’m not really sure what I had expected to be honest, but it was nice that he was someone I could actually chat to. Throughout the day he checked in every hour or so, acted as a translator, got me water, oversaw transport, picked me up extra vitamins (not included with the post-care pack) and more. I’m sure that’s generally expected wherever you go, but he was really good and helped make what could be quite a stressful experience pretty chilled.
To begin with I got my blood taken. This was pretty straightforward having done so before. The main purpose of this was for the PRP, although they possibly checked the iron levels etc…. The hospital seemed busy, but this was very quick there was no wait for me.
In the consultation with Dr. Yaman. He used a special camera to look at follicles, and took a number of measurements. He quickly drew a rough guide to what my hairline would be like and answered some of my questions about the procedure. His measurement showed that I actually needed 4,100 grafts and that there would be no extra charge for the additional 100. He told me that I had very good density on the donor area; lots of double, triple and even quadruple grafts; that the individual hairs were quite thick and that my recipient area would be covered completely in one sitting. He joked that if he’d had donor area as thick as mine he’d have another surgery (or at least I think that’s what he said). This might have been complete fluff, but in any case it put me at ease which was exactly what I needed.
I then got washed and shaved, put on a medical gown and a pair of Crocs (the absolute worst thing about the whole procedure) and headed into the room to begin. Fikret took a couple of photos and told me that these would be for my reference, and wouldn’t be used for their marketing which was reassuring.
Dr. Yaman re-drew the hairline, this time using a number of different tools to get it symmetrical. I’m lucky that my hair hasn’t receded as such, just gotten extremely thin and so I still have a thin semblance of a hairline left, and he was able to follow this - although I’ve seen plenty of videos where he’s constructed them from scratch so I can’t see that being a problem if your hair loss differs to mine.
We were then ready to properly get started which began by Yaman administering some local anaesthetic. This was the only part of it that actually hurt. It’s incredibly quick and as soon as the needle is out the pain stops, but to suggest it is pain free would be misleading. That shouldn’t put anyone off though, if you’ve ever got a tattoo, got stitches, got waxed (or had a needle shoved into your scalp) then the pain level is comparable to that. No biggie. Certainly not comparable to the years of torment I suffered looking in the mirror, seeing John Travolta in Grease gradually turn into John Travolta in From Paris With Love. Anyway…
He then opened the channels up, doing so at different angles to ensure the hair would sit naturally once implanted. This was pretty quick and I couldn’t feel a thing, although I could hear it which was a little unsettling at first. It was kind of a crunching sound, a little odd. Then he put the PRP in. I’m not sure whether this was an injection into the scalp, or if he just squirted the liquid onto the open wounds because I couldn’t feel it and didn’t think to ask so if anyone wants to advise then feel free. My guess is that the opening of channels took 45 minutes, maybe a little longer.
We were then onto the extraction part. Dr. Yaman handed over to a technician, who had a special pair of microscopic goggles which made me feel confident that he’d be specifically targeting the hair follicles, as opposed to just plunging the extraction tool into my skull. This was the part I was most concerned about because if they mess that up and over harvest or leave big messy scars then you’re in a real trouble - however I know there are risks with any procedure and the answers I was given to questions was enough to put me at ease and suggest this wouldn’t happen here. (Spoiler - donor area healing nicely)
There was a second round of injections which hurt again, and then we began. Again, the procedure was painless - although I did get the anaesthetic topped up a few times when I was worried it was wearing. You are lying facedown for a large part of it which isn’t comfortable, and it’s probably worth learning breathing techniques or meditation if you get a bit anxious about this kind of thing, but that aside it wasn’t too bad. Some people do it manually which is very precise, but very slow. At Yaman’s they used a little motorised device which speeds the process up without creating any additional damage. The machine sounded a little bit like a very quiet hairdryer as opposed to the dentists drill, and the actual process sounded a bit like taking a pair of clippers to your head. Once he got halfway through it we were joined by a nurse and she plucked the hairs from my scalp and placed them in Petri dishes. This was a pretty long process and aside the indignity of wearing crocs, was the worst part of the day but mostly because of the way I was lying. I was told that if you work out a lot then you’re more likely to bleed. This won’t affect the end result but does slow it down a bit as they need to clean up. I go to the gym most days and bled quite a lot, so stopping a week before might be as good idea. Dr Yaman checked in on this a few times to have a look, always giving positive feedback. At the end he said it all looked very neat and would heal not problem - again, might have been BS but it calmed me. I’d guess this part took around 2.5 hours.
We were then past the half way mark and it was time for lunch. I’m not really sure what it was to be honest but I wolfed it down because by this point I was starving. It was a salad, rice, some sauce and something that tasted a bit like a kofta but didn’t look like it. Fikret checked to see if I needed any more and then brought me a cup of tea. (I wanted coffee but apparently that would make it hurt more so settled on tea). I had half an hour or so to just chill, had a bit of a chance to chat with the other chap who’d been in - he’d come from Dubai. I know you can get them cheap in India and Iran which must be equidistant, so again, reassuring to see he’d chose to come to Istanbul.
The final part was placing grafts. Fikret said I could put my headphones in for the last bit and just chill out but I had stupidly left them at the hotel. I would definitely recommend bringing some in-ears and topping up on podcasts and stuff to get through the last stretch. A third and final round of anaesthetic and then we began starting with single grafts at front and worked backwards. Anesthetic wore off towards end and I could feel it pinching so I got it topped up. This was long, but I got regular updates on how long was left from Fikret and the opportunity to stop for a drink etc. Half an hour before it ended I got an IV which had some antibiotics in it and a few other things. By this point I was starting to feel pretty drained so the IV perked me up. At the end Dr Yaman came in and had a final inspection before I was bandaged. There was a bit of a language barrier so I’m not sure if I picked it up correctly, but I think what he said was that my grafts were a good size and that as a result it would heal quickly. I was wrapped up, given my aftercare pack and we arranged times for my wash and airport transfers the next day and I was done. I think this was the longest part at around 4 hours. I was sat in a semi-comfortable position and was able to watch some TV so whilst it was quite long, it wasn’t too bad but I was very relieved to have it finished.
Back to the hotel, I couldn’t stop looking at the top of my head. It looked incredibly neat and clean, and really dense towards the front. I couldn’t quite believe I’d actually gone through with it having worried about my hair loss for almost a decade. I had a nice dinner in my room and watched Bird Box on Netflix (spoiler - it’s not that good) and then tried to sleep. My head wasn’t sore and the special pillow made sure I didn’t put pressure on the recipient area - but lets be frank, you’re not going to have the best sleep of your life and it’ll be a bit awkward for a few days.
The next day I went back for the wash which was pretty straight forward and was given special instructions for the next 10 days. Fikret arranged for someone to pick up special multivitamins for me (Capiloz, not available in the UK), I said my thanks and got sent on my way with my snazzy new headband too. Chilled at the hotel for a few hours and then got picked up to go to the airport to go home.
I was quite worried about this part. I hadn’t told many people what I was doing and so the prospect of being in public in this state wasn’t one I had looked forward to but I needn’t have worried. The airport was full of other people all ages and races going to all different corners of the world with headbands, bandages, swelling, scabs and the various associated after effects. No one looked at me funny, nor did I have to remove the headband at the passport/security check which was a big relief. There were a few other people on my flight who’d had a procedure done and so I got chatting to two of them. They had paid £1,500 each for as many grafts as they needed and decided on a whim to go and get it done. There were 6 people in that same clinic getting done on that day and it sounded like it was done entirely by the nurses and technicians. They seemed to think I’d gotten mugged off paying as much as I did and if I’m honest, theirs looked pretty neat and clean too, although they still had the bandages on so I couldn’t see the donor area. In any case, I was still happy that I’d done my research and chosen Dr. Yaman. A big worry for me was getting a hatchet job, and thankfully it looks like these guys avoided that but better safe than sorry for me.
Once I got back to Stansted I was through security quick, jumped on a coach back to London and then a taxi and then I was home. I’d done it. A quick trip to Turkey in secret, returning with a full head of hair. The perfect crime. No one will suspect a thing.
…Unless they look at my head and wonder where the hair has come from of course, but I’ll not have to deal with that for a few months.
My key tips:
-Do your research. A huge part of this for me was nerves, made much easier by knowing I’d chosen someone who I really thought would do a good job
-Take some Lira and learn some basic Turkish
-Book baggage allowance. You’ll need this for the aftercare pack which won’t get on as hand luggage
-Take your headphones with you to the hospital and stock up on podcasts
-Book your airport depending on the location of your surgery. This is basic stuff, I failed at it
-If you’ve got a baldy mate to take with you then do so, because the flights and hanging around the hotel on your own is a bit boring
-You’ll be wearing shirts for a week so make sure to bring plenty
-Don’t expect to see Istanbul. I’m pretty drained so there was no way I could have made a holiday out of it. However, I do definitely want to go back because it looks beautiful.
-Watch your head! I didn’t realise how clumsy I was until I had to be careful about banging it.
I had it done 8 days ago now and so far so good. There was some swelling which worked its way down my face, I had puffy eyes for a bit and they’re still a little yellow/purple but nothing hideous. The donor area has healed up nicely and once it’s evened out with a set of clippers in a few weeks should be undetectable. The top didn’t scab particularly, although there was a lot of crusting which has mostly worked it’s way out - taking some of the hair with it although thankfully not the bulb. I can see a light pink hue to the recipient area which may become more apparent as it sheds and I can tell the difference between the new hair and the hair that was there beforehand but otherwise I just look like I’ve had a buzzcut. The donor area is still a little pink and under certain lights looks a little patchy (but not to the extent that I'm bothered) but I'm hopeful that as it continues to heal and regrow it'll be unnoticeable
The photos are below, the ones of the healing HT are under a very bright light and so will make the hair on the recipient and donor area look thinner - under normal light it looks much less noticeable.
I won’t make any grand promises about weekly check-ins; seen way too many dead threads with endless ‘any update?’ posts; but I’ll try to pop back periodically as it heals to update you all and answer any questions.
Thanks for reading.

This fellow is a friend of the practice and had FUE about 6 years ago. Now he has fine hairs and has a decent FUE result. Had he had donor hair as thick as his beard hairs....we'd have hit a grand slam home run. I suspect at some point we'll be doing another case to add in behind his transplant where he's thinned a bit...and of course we'll add some grafts to his hairline. FUE simply doesn't grow as well as strip due to root avulsion stress which I've discussed in 50 videos or so. But John is happy and probably more importantly, so is his girlfriend.
The video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wg3OL9zN2A&feature=youtu.be
Dr Lindsey
McLean VA

It is with great pleasure to be able to announce the arrival of Bisanga and Cole Hair Transplant Clinic. Formed by two of the leading FUE surgeons today, coalition member Dr. Christian Bisanga and Dr. John Cole. The clinic is based in Athens, Greece and will be officially opening for its first round of patients on March 2017 of this year.
With Dr. Bisanga based out of Brussels, Belgium and Dr. Cole out of the U.S. Why Greece you may ask?
Well that's a great question. Quoting Dr. Cole -
Many patients are focused on price. This leads patients to clinics offering very low prices in countries that are often not as safe and with fewer government regulations to protect patients. For this reason, Dr. Bisanga and I decided to form a clinic with the express intent to offer price-conscious patients an alternative solution at "low" prices. We will personally supervise the surgeries to make sure patients get the best possible outcomes.
As mentioned, Bisanga and Cole Hair Transplant Clinic are able to offer luxury hair transplant procedures from the industry leaders at extremely competitive prices.
Dr Cole went on to say -
It looks like the first round of surgery starting March 27 will come in at 2.5 euro per graft. I'm sure happy to be involved in this opportunity.
On a personal note, I am extremely honoured to be patient advisor to such highly esteemed hair restoration physicians, and in such a visionary project. Many of you reading this may already be familiar with me from being active on this forum. My personal journey with hair loss is my motivating factor to getting involved with Bisanga and Cole Hair Transplant Clinic. Experiencing hair loss at a young age and being hugely effected by this, I struggled greatly with insecurity and a lack of confidence due to hair loss which several years later, eventually led me to a FUT procedure. The results definitely helped me to get back my confidence and unquestionably improved my day to day life. I aspire to be able to serve individuals, build relationships and offer honest and ethical advice, guidance and solutions for their hair loss concerns.
To be able to consider undergoing a FUE procedure with such ethical Doctors achieving such consistent quality results at this price point allows individuals, who may normally be priced out of choosing these physicians, accessibility to their expertise.
If anybody has any interest, questions or queries regarding this new project, don't hesitate to ask.
Also, by all means contact me privately if I can assist you with anything or you would like to consult with the clinic.
Many thanks.

Thanks John! I like Dr. Vories and he's on my top list of surgeons right now.
However, I'm 29 and a worried about my future balding pattern so I'm still in the deciding phase of FUE vs FUT.
If I were to go FUE, I think I would choose him.

Several years ago I had a surgery performed by Dr. Diep. Still very satisfied with the results. It's not easy selecting a surgeon for any type of surgery but it's especially hard in the case of hair restoration since the web is full of information and often mis-information. I definitely recommend Dr. Diep, especially if you chose to go the FUE/FUT route.

Hi, this is my first time posting on this forum. I have posted on other websites before when I first started losing my hair around age 22. I am now 27 and after long time considering getting an HT I finally took the plunge. I have been on minox and fin for the last five years and have recently added Dut as of 6 months ago.
after looking around for surgeons I came across Dr. John Diep. I've seen his work and felt like he was the best choice especially since he specializes in FUE (I didn't want the strip method). I booked the procedure appointment back in May 2017 and it was set to happen November 2 2017
I had to book a cheap hotel room for two nights (night before, and night of procedure) so that I can get to the clinic at the 5:30am which they said would be the start of my procedure. As I got there at 5:30am they told me my appointment wasn't until 7:30 so I went back to my hotel and waited. Not sure what the mix up was but it wasn't too big of a deal, I just wanted to get started and get the day over with. Once I was done filling out the applications I was called into change clothes and talk to Dr. Diep. He drew over where my hairline should be and we agreed on where he would be filling in my hair line. He told me I was a NW4 on the scale. I was hoping he would be able to fill in my crown area as well which was thinning badly and he said if we had extra grafts he would do that. Unfortunately he was not able to touch the back and only filled the front with 2685 grafts (he was able to pull 185 extra grafts). Until then I can always put hair fibers to fill it in. As Dr. Diep said "The front is where the money is".
after talking to him he gave me a concoction of meds and we went into the surgery room. They gave me a remote to watch netflix as they started prepping for extraction from the donor area. Before I knew it I was awoken to the telling me it was lunch time. Yep, I slept through the whole thing. I barely remember them shaving my whole head and only have a little memory of them injecting the antiseptic to numb my head. I ate a sandwhich and then fell back asleep. There were instances in which I woke up and heard the techs working on my head but I was in and out of it. Pretty much slept through the whole process and before I knew it there was one of the techs waking me up telling me about my take home baggy with all my stuff..at this point I was still kind of out of it but I was happy to hear that the whole thing was finishing up and I wasn't awake for any of it. The only pain I felt was during the injections. Other than that I don't remember any pain during extraction nor implantation.
The whole process was from 7:30am- 5pm
After the process was done, I was let go with a baggy full of drugs, shampoo, and post op care instructions.
The staff and doctor were nice and the whole process went smoothly, even though I was asleep the whole time
That night I slept at a 45 degree angle with pillows propping me up.
The following picture were taken before so you can see where I was before the procedure:

Hi everybody,
I will be sharing my FUE hair transplant experience that I recently had done with Dr Diep. I would like to thank everyone who are actively posting on this forum (especially HTSoon his results were unreal and were an inspiration for me to choose Dr Diep) as it helped me immensely and after months of research I hope I made a wise choice in Dr Diep. We will see in the months to follow .
A bit about me:
Race: Asian
Age: 28
Hair Quality: Medium/Coarse
Norwood Scale: 6
Procedure Method: FUE
No. of Grafts: 3200
Surgeon: Dr. John Diep
Some background:
I have been tackling hair loss since my early 20's and it has always bothered me. I am a good looking guy and used to get compliments in and out on my looks until I started losing hair. I felt like I was losing an important phase of my life to hairloss. I am destined to be a Norwood 6. My father is a Norwood 6 and a lot of the males on my father's side of the family are Norwood 6's. However, all males on my mother's side of the family have great hair. I was unlucky to have received the bad genes from my father's side.
Previous Surgeries:
This was my second FUE hair transplant after I had around 2300 grafts transplanted by FUE a couple of years back with a different surgeon, the results of which I feel were ok, not good or great. The aim of the first surgery was to cover basically half of my head extending into the middle of the top areas.
Medications:
I currently take Minoxidil and 1mg Finasteride daily. I was initially very reluctant in taking Finasteride after reading horror stories online but I decided to give it a try, thinking that I would stop it if I had sides. Luckily, Finasteride has not had any effects on me so far and on the contrary has been helping me keep a lot of my hair in the crown area.
Choice of Surgeon:
After my first hair transplant, I wanted to give the best possible shot on my second hair transplant. My aim was to restore a natural looking frontal hairline and add density into the already transplanted mid scalp. I narrowed down my choices to 3 surgeons; Lorenzo, Erdogan and Dr Diep. However I decided to go with Dr Diep as he tends to produce very natural looking hairlines.
Consultation:
I had my consultation with Dr Diep in March. He was very down to earth and willing to help me in any possible way. I told him about my previous FUE surgery and he immediately looked at my donor area to see how much hair I have remaining. He praised the quality of my hair and told me he can easily extract 2500 grafts this time and have around another 2000 - 2500 remaining in the donor for future procedures. I was satisfied with the consultation and decided to book a surgery date. The waiting time was around 7 months but I made it a point to Dr Diep's receptionist to let me know if there was a cancellation.
Surgery Date (26 August 2017):
My original surgery date was scheduled for 7th October however I was informed that there was a cancellation and since I was already on vacation from work, I decided to confirm the new surgery date.
I woke up around 5 am and had a light breakfast. I was asked to arrive at Dr Diep's clinic at 5:30 am. I arrived at the clinic at 5:30 am and the receptionist gave me some paperwork to fill out. Once I was done with the paperwork, I was taken to Dr Diep's office. He reviewed the paperwork and then we started discussing possible hairline designs. He went very aggressive initially with the hairline placement but considering the extent of my hairloss, I tried to convince him to take a very conservative approach. We eventually decided to meet somewhere in the middle, not too aggressive and not too conservative. His reasoning was that the hairline should not be too low so that it draws attention and at the same time it should not be too high again to draw attention. He also mentioned that the frontal area is where all the money is. This convinced me to take the proportional route.
After drawing the agreed upon hairline, they gave me some pain meds, anti anflamtory meds, and valium. I was taken into the surgery room and I had 4 nurses and Dr. Diep attending to my procedure. I changed in to my scrubs and sat down in the chair. By this time, the valium was kicking in and I was super drowsy. I don't remember when I was knocked out and fell asleep. I don't exactly remember but I woke up a couple of times for a few seconds during the extraction phase where I could hear Dr Diep and the nurses talking when he was extracting the follicles. I woke up for lunch around 1 pm. To my surprise, Dr Diep told me he was able to extract around 3200 follicles. He said my follicles were extremely easy to extract so he got a lot more than the initially planned 2500 grafts. I was shocked to hear this because the doctor that I had my first FUE surgery said my grafts were difficult to extract as they were very deep. I guess this proved Dr Diep's superior FUE skill set. Dr. Diep then started to design my hairline and slots where the hair follicles were to be inserted. Once the follicles were ready for insertion, I had 2-3 nurses working on inserting. The procedure was done at 5:30 pm and I slept through most of the insertion phase as well. Dr Diep was very professional and he assured me this transplant would change my look. I was very happy to hear that.
Below you can see the attached photos right after the procdure and the last one being taken 4 days post op.
I will be posting regular updates and If you have any questons or concerns, do not hesistate to ask!

I was really happy with the results of my hair transplant. I decided to do the FUE procedure. The staff was very friendly and were able to answer all my questions regarding the procedure. I would recommend Dr. John Diep if you are interested in getting a hair transplant. After my hair transplant procedure, I started to see results within the 3rd month.

Dude - you ARE the MAN!
I'm a gonna' go on a MAJOR rant right now - so all you TL-DR 'dear readers' may exit stage left at this point. TYIA.
Major cosmetic surgery that is botched should be 'shouted from the rooftops' and to be brutally frank (and yes, I am in the legal field and licensed in 3 states as well as Israel) it is horrifying to me that a foreign surgeon cannot be SUED up his ass for Compensatory {expectation & consequential}/General/Punitive as well as Aggravatory and finally Restitutionary Damages.
Dr. Erdogan is a reckless unfortunate well-known MILL surgeon operating in Turkey. I stand by this written statement. Unequivocally so, in fact. So sue me, eh? Oh wait - that's what Dr. Erdogan says (not to your face) when he and his staff 'ghost' a persistent and rightly so PISSED-off U.S. patient.
Shame on him.
And if I am given a 'timeout' for my written statement - no matter. I'll take the charge. It's really no skin off my sack as they say in Jersey.
And yes, my last surgery was in India w/Dr. Suneet Soni (4.5K FUT & 500 FUE) in March '17, previous to that surgery in Great Neck, NY w/Dr. Feller 2,243 FUT in March '04, previous to that surgery two surgeries w/Dr. Mark Pomerantz in Chicago, IL (700 and 1100 FUT 'mini and micro' grafts) in two sessions '93 & '94 and finally my 1st initial surgery w/the stupendously arrogant yet 'dim' Dr. Matt Leavitt (100 and 120 minigrafts) FUT in Detroit, MI in Dec. '90 and Jan. '91
Of course I will get more surgery - 2 to 3 FUE procedures and I will utilize 'beard' hair in the process because although I have complete coverage and NO visible thinning my hair is Asian-esque BONE straight and my hair-caliber thickness in Microns is embarrassingly low - thanks Mom & Dad. You fucked it all up when you capriciously concieved me without thinking about genetic predispositions in 1966.
Flaccid and weak lack of forethought, but I digress.
So, I know of where and when I speak. In fact I would say I am the most informed hair transplant consumer that I've ever known personally. I am obsessed w/hair - it is who I am.
Since I get a modest amount of feedback in these forums I will post my last 2 major surgery 'before/after's and my 'current situation' in great and nauseating detail later this spring when I have more free time.
SLR photos - professional lighting - wet/dry combthrough videos. Scar and donor area combthroughs and both just-washed hair (wet) - towel-dried hair, no-product dry and styled hair as well as w/a touch of DermMatch concealer.
I will walk the walk because I admire everyone here that posts photos and tells their story - it takes alot for me to respect other men - this is hands-down the very best hair-restoration website on the planet.
Simple as. For this I owe - a mitzvah if you will for my fellow brothers (in spirit) that suffer from this terrible progressive illness that is passed down from inferior genetic donors (our parents). In the far future hairloss will be a relic of the past that time has forgotten.
Until then 'by endurance we conquer!'
Peace & Degenerate Blessings...

I had a hair loss restoration treatment done with Dr. John Diep, and the results were better than expected. I found out about his clinic after watching video reviews on youtube. his website is: www.mhtaclinic.com

@John Doe, sorry if I missed it. But I didn't read if you're on any medications? Always a good idea to slow hair loss. Your goal is to keep what you have, for as long as possible, and restore with at hair transplant what you've lost.
You narrowed it down to some good doctors. I can vouch that Dr. Wong produces some of the best crowns in the business. I would also add Dr. Shapiro to the list. Some of the best hairlines in the business… though a little more conservative in his approach (nothing wrong with that).
Once you've narrowed down your list to the elites… the doctors who specialize in hair transplants… only perform your transplants… You'll notice that each specializes in one thing:
Rahal, he's known for more youthful hairlines... His patients are usually in their 30s. Same with Shapiro, awesome at hairlines but his patients are a little older… Wong for crowns… You get the idea. So go with a doctor who specializes in what you want.
Keep in mind that only a handful of doctors in North America are able to perform FUE consistently. But the ones who do… Produce some of the best results in the industry.
You also want to look at factors like punch size, transection… Full and partial… Technique, etc.
Now on the cost… I keep hearing that Turkey is less expensive… Guys need to know that's not true. Sure some clinics offer $1/graft… But you want to avoid them like the plague. They are cheap for a reason. At hair transplant is a one-shot deal. Don't risk it.
Yes, there are a select few clinics in Turkey producing great results… But they're not cheap. Factoring cost of travel, exchange-rate… and the real risk of needing a touch up… and they are actually more expensive. You also need to factor in the cost of the second procedure. A lot of clinics offer discounts to past patients.
I hope this helps man… Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions. Take your time, meet lots of patients, ask lots of questions… Here to help.
PS. If you're curious I had FUE with Rahal. Photos are attached.

On August 3rd 2014, I underwent my first FUE hair transplant, performed by Doctor John Diep of Los Gatos, California. Dr. Diep transplanted a total of 2,460 grafts in the front half of my head. He recreated my hairline and added grafts further back to increase density. The result was fantastic (link: https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/39774-2460-fue-hair-transplant-by-doctor-john-diep/), so I decided to quit using Minoxidil. I knew I'd pay for it, but decided that a second transplant to restore healthy hair in my problem area would be far better than taking Minoxidil for life.
A quick side note; Minoxidil made my face puffy and caused deep creases/wrinkles to form on my forehead.
On November 17th 2015, Dr. Diep transplanted an additional 2,220 grafts (link: https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/43867-second-fue-ht-by-dr-diep-2220-grafts-to-improve-density-4700-grafts-total/).
Enough said. Here is my update. Just 3 weeks shy from my 4 year hair transformation anniversary. Thank you so much Dr. Diep, you're truly a master and have made me a calmer and happier person.

I started losing my hair fairly young due to genetics and poor hairstyle decisions (dreads really thin your hair out and mess up your hairline); however, I was very lucky to have found Dr. Diep, who did not reject me at 23 because I was too young. No , instead he advised me on how to have a conservative procedure where I would not have the perfect hair, but in the long run, it would set me up to look my best as I aged. This meant not bringing my hairline lower, nor fixing the receding corners, but I was ok with those expectations as long as I kept my hair. I was incredibly lucky to get the FUE from him because I actually cancelled the FUT procedure with the first doctor I had found in Oakland because I didn't want a messed up scar on my head (I usually keep my sides very short).
The first picture is of me in August 2014 where you cannot really tell from the picture, but my hair was very thin in the front.
I got 1100 grafts in February 2015 and the second picture is in March 2 or 3 weeks after.
The final picture was taken last Sunday, and yes, you can dye your hair after you get a transplant! Luckily, I have also been taking propecia and rogaine since I was 21, and their effects are additive over time. Now, at 26 (soon to be 27), I have plenty of hair on my head, and am thinking about a second procedure with Dr. Diep before I turn 30 to fill in some of my thinning areas (and maybe restore my hairline a bit more); however, the main thing to keep in mind with these surgeries is to not strive for perfection, just focus on how you can maintain most of your hair for the rest your life. I was very fortunate to have found Dr. Diep because back in 2014, I did not even like to get my hair wet for fear of it looking thin. Now I can enjoy any activity no matter how messed up my hair gets.

Hello fellow forum community,
I’d like to share with you all my personal story of hair loss restoration in hopes of helping those who may see this, and be able to provide them with information, and more importantly, hope for a brighter future.
Well, what can I say.. It’s been one year to the date since I had my hair transplant surgery with Dr. Scott Alexander and his fantastic team at the Biltmore Surgical Hair Restoration center on December 19, 2016, and I would like to share my journey leading up to and throughout today’s one year anniversary with you all.
The Beginning: Hair Transplant #1
In 2009 while still in college I started to notice for the first time a thinning and receding hairline. As most of you could imagine at this younger age in life, it was completely devastating to my self-esteem, self – confidence, and self – image. I was so blindsided by this new look, it was as if I had awoken to a new me literally overnight.
After weighing several options of how I would tackle this new burden I rushed towards a hair transplant surgery the very first moment I had. Little did I know what I’d be getting myself in to..
Back then, although it doesn’t seem that long ago, Bosley commercials seemed to be plastered everywhere, and the young me was on a mission to resolve my hair loss ASAP. Within the week, I had scheduled a review meeting and the then anticipated procedure date with their Beverly Hills office.
Soon thereafter, I had undergone a FUT hair transplant with one of their doctors (whose name I can’t remember) for roughly 1,100 – 1,300 grafts. Unfortunately I can’t remember the exact amount. As I was in the midst of the early stage of recovery, I happened to be in Las Vegas flipping through the channels on the TV and saw a Bosley commercial pop up, and coincidentally saw the same doctor who performed my FUT surgery in the commercial! As I look back on that day, I admit I was too young back then to really realize how I should’ve felt about seeing that commercial that day, but I didn’t, and I thought nothing of it.
Round Two: Hair Transplant #2
Several months later my first hair transplant experience was a success… a very lucky success as I would later realize. The Bosley FUT hair transplant, for what it’s worth, gave me several years (seven to be exact) of a care free type of life style (in relation to my hair). Unfortunately as with ageing, what was once a restored hairline had begun to thin once again, and I knew I would have to embark on a second procedure.
This time around, I did my due diligence and I researched for several months what was the best route and option for me, while also reading numerous Bosley horror stories.. As many years had passed since I had looked in to researching this matter, the technology in this field had grown significantly and I wanted to make sure I knew all about it. I can certainly say that this forum was a true gem in answering all my questions, and sufficing all my queries and needs with the abundance of pictures, and doctoral input throughout the many threads available within this community.
After the several months of researching hundreds of threads and viewing probably over a few thousand pictures of how many grafts this person had vs. how many grafts that person had, and who they went to, and how they had it done, I became dead set on proceeding with Dr. Scott Alexander.
Through my initial conversations with SPEX on behalf of Dr. Alexander, I felt more and more comfortable with proceeding with my second hair transplant journey with the Biltmore Surgical Hair Restoration center. The key and what was the most important factor to me after thoroughly doing all of my research was that Dr. Alexander himself was the one who would be performing the procedure, and not a blind draw in the hat of who would be doing it e.g. Bosley.*
After several conversations with Dr. Alexander, I had scheduled my second procedure with him and his team on December 19, 2016. We planned for a 2000 graft FUE procedure that utilized the ARTAS system for extraction, along with dipping the grafts in Acell, then utilizing Dr. Alexander’s lateral slit technique for insertion for that natural look.
As the surgery date approached, I flew to Arizona from LA and was housed at the beautiful Biltmore Hotel – Arizona, which happened to be designed by Frank Lloyd Wight.. truly a sight to see and a very comfy hotel to relax at post – op.
On the day of the procedure I arrived bright and early, ready to embark on this new journey. After briefly talking with Dr. Alexander, and taking the initial photos pre – procedure (below), we began on the surgery. The procedure went off without a hitch and Dr. Alexander, his team, and the ARTAS machine worked magic over the next several hours.
Before I knew it, it was all over and was time to go back to the hotel. After discussing all of the post op procedures I’d have to follow, including getting on finasteride, I was on my way to a new me!
Since then, I’ve had tremendous growth in which I am very happy about as you can see below. I feel like I once again have the ability to cut, crop and maneuver my hair in to new styles whenever and as often as I want, without the caring of who’s noticing a thin spot, as there is no more thin spots!
So.. enough from me.. let’s let the pictures do the talking.
*******************************************************************************************************************************

Hair transplant experience
Intoduction;
I am nearly 35 years old male, suffering with male baldness since 10 years, mostly in my crown area, my hair line always been a Micky Mouse type and was driving me mad. I am classified as a Norwood 3 vertex but as I said my hair line have had just a slightly hair loss.
My hair transplant decision was very spontaneous; I work in medical fields where I get to see lots of people suffering on daily basis. This make me concluded that life is too short for hesitation and we should do anything what could make us happy.
Choosing a Dr.
I after reviewing prices in London (I am Easter European Living in the UK) I have decided to go for Turkey. I have logged in to I think most of the forums for hair lost, hair transplant, hair restoration topics (with the same nickname). I think what I was looking at for choosing a Dr was his international credential in Hair transplant. In the forums there is lots of politics going on and it’s hard to distinguish what is right and what is false.
My choice I have narrowed to actually few Dr`s in Turkey. Dr Erdogan, Dr Doganay and Dr Civas, Dr Karadeniz and Dr Yamman. Because I am HIV poz I also find out that sometimes is better to check if the clinic will accept me as a patient. So after the disclosure only one Dr left and to be honest was really pleased with him as he was my ultimate winner anyway (he is a member for the well-respected IAHRS organisation). His reps Didem and Mustafa were always super nice and very quick with replying all off my questions and never tried to push me to have the procedure with them. I also requested that I would like to have my hair crown done on one day and the hair line the next day and that the Dr do all the implanting himself which wasn’t a problem because this is their working protocol anyway.
After reviling on the forums that I have plan of going with Dr Doganay I have met with lots of criticism of his latest work and warnings not to risk being butchered by “dogy Doganay”. At this point I was really confused and could not make up my mind. (Suddenly there is Dr Hakan ex employer who is spilling the beans about his unethical work and lots of not very favourable reviews at the same time. Apparently there was a time when AHD clinic was run by the technicians instead the Dr himself) Additionally I have contacted International Hair Transplant Mentor in USA to give me his opinion about Dr Hakan work and as I was expecting he just assured me that my choice it is a good one.
First day
I have arrived to Istanbul Ataturk airport and as prompted I was picked up buy a smiling driver who did not speak English but straight away he passes me his mobile so I could speak to Didem who explained to me the schedule of my hair transplant procedure. I was taken to very nice hotel near the airport ParkInn by Radison (the Ahd clinic is like 3 km away from the hotel) where I could just relax for the rest of the day.
Second day
After an amazing breakfast at the hotel I was taken I think by John (who speak English) to the clinic.
There I met with Didem and the rest of the staff. I have already felt like someone important and long awaited for. Except Didem I also had been accompanied by a very young handsome translator Tfeem? Not sure about the spelling. Then I met with Dr himself who looked at my donor hair and find out about my expectation for the HT and baldness in my family. He also drawn the hair line which I was very happy with (I have seen some critics if triangle like hair line made by Hakan but I don’t think they can be true cause the Dr is using the laser toll invented I think by Dr Schapiro?
The conclusion was that I have very thin hair (which is true) and I will need around 3500 grafts to have a nice density for my hair line and my crown cover. The operation was divided on to two days as requested and I was taken to another room to have my hair shaven.
In the operation room the Dr was waiting for me already and draw another hair line and I think also marked the area which will be harvested. He then injected me with anaesthesia (which I think is the only painful moments in the whole HT procedure). My hair was harvested by Ahmed who sims very professional and like someone who is also well respected within the clinic. After 2. 5 h the harvesting was done (1750 grafts) and I had 15 min lunch break.
When was the time for implantation the Dr again gave me anaesthetic injections (it’s not a shame if you cry there lol) and when everything was numbed and proceed with implanting my grafts.
As a medic professional I also work in surgery theatres and must admit that everything was at the highest standards. They didn’t fault at anything and after I think 4.5 -5 hours first part was done.
After the procedure I was given neck pillow some pain relief, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds and taken to the hotel where I have order room service diner.
Third Day
After a good sleep (yep I didn’t have a problem sleeping with the neck pillow) I was taken to the clinic and exactly the same procedure was performing on me with 1650 grafts. To be honest the second day was much easier as I was much more relaxed and didn’t feel that much pain while being injected with anaesthetics.
Aha what I have to mention was that I have my crown done and hair line at the same time but the grafts numbers where divided on to two days (the Dr recommended that it will be the best option for best results)
Fourth day
I had my hair washed and instructed how to taking cate of them and also was given baby lotion baby shampoo (which I could take with me unfortunately) some anti-scaring cream for my donor area, biotin, finasteride supply for 3 months and sexy fisherman hat to protect my head from infection.
Conclusion
Over all I am very satisfied with the clinic, everyone was super professional, nice and helpful. The Dr himself is very approachable and even that his English is not best he does try to communicate with you to make sure you are happy and at east. Didem is very bobbly and nice to be around. Tfeem? Very claver 21 years old from Aleppo, Syrian boy who learned English form watching American movies, he always finds interesting subject to talk about with you.
Finally, I am really happy how my hair looks like after HT and looking forward to the next moths. Hope my results will confirm that Dr Hakan Doganay is very talented HT surgeon.

Dr. Diep is the best at what he does - you get what you pay for, the service from start to finish is well planned out and executed which makes a refreshing change for the Bay area. He's always busy and has a long waiting list so get booked in ASAP. Facial hair implant procedure – happy with the results although I hoped for a thicker more course beard however Dr. Diep did say this may not happen – gave good/honest advice – highly recommended

In 2017, I travelled to Madrid and underwent an FUE hair transplant with Dr Lorenzo. A year has passed and I wanted to document my progress and help guide anyone else considering the Injertocapilar Clinic, or an FUE transplant in general.
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I never knew I was losing my hair until it was too late. My rate of hair loss was gradual. There were no hairs on my pillow or in the plughole. Since I had a high hairline, I failed to properly recognize the degree of recession that was occurring. However, by my mid-thirties, my hair loss was becoming noticeable and I was not entirely happy with my appearance.
Sometime around 2015, a friend took some photographs of my scalp and I was shocked to find that I was sporting the kind of thinning hair that I imagined I might have as an old man.
My hairline was high up on my head and my crown had started to open up. As a spunky guy in my mid-thirties, I was not ready to have an aged man's head on my body.
After some months of quiet anguish, I decided to do something radical and shave my head. This was surprisingly liberating. For the first time, I had control over my hair, rather than the other way round. As soon as I let the clippers do their work, I was no longer at the mercy to the whims of my scalp.
I wish I had done this sooner.
Hence, I’d recommend that anyone considering a hair transplant shaves their head first. Shaving is a big step to take in its own right. However, I immediately discovered that when there’s no hair on your head there’s no problem to deal with! A shaved head can also look (very) cool but you won’t know until you do it.
Give it a try.
I rocked the shaved head-look for over a year. However, I eventually decided to opt for a hair transplant: whilst I was confident with my new appearance, I wanted to recognise my face looking back in the mirror, rather than the physiognomy of a baby-faced Jason Stratham.
I had my reasons. Several years ago, I had made it a personal mission to restore my youthfulness and vitality. My body was starting to pick up the aches and pains associated with ageing and living a sedentary lifestyle. However, I was able to turn the clock back, with a regime of calisthenics and an improved diet.
I figured it would also be fun for my hair to also follow suit.
Besides, I reasoned that if the transplant didn’t match my expectations, I could simply revert back to shaving my head and wearing the hell out of a suit.
In this way, shaving my head actually helped me take the decision to get a transplant in the most positive of ways. Who knew?
I began researching the various online forums (including this one) for suggestions on where to find a great doctor. I kept my time on the forums brief but eventually, I narrowed my search down to what I objectively considered, the top three hair surgeons. They were:
1. Dr Feriduni (Belgium)
2. Dr Rahal (Canada)
3. Dr Lorenzo (Spain)
I contacted each of their clinics and made online enquiries. I sent in photos of my hair and corresponded with their respective staff. Spex, who represents Dr Ferudini, was particularly helpful.
However, Dr Lorenzo contacted me personally (on Christmas Day, no less). I appreciated this personal touch, his frank feedback and the breadth of his portfolio of work.
Many before me considered him the greatest hair surgeon on the planet. I figured that if I was going to get this procedure done, I’d opt for the best of the best. With a mixture of gut instinct and mental deduction, I chose Dr Lorenzo.
(NB. There was not much difference in quotes given by all three. I paid in several instalments and I believe the total was around 12-13K Euros)
It is a big decision to fly to another country and undergo a hair procedure. Personally, numerous objections in my mind came up, such as:
‘You’re already happy, surely this hair procedure only serves your ego?’
‘The procedure is expensive, wouldn’t you rather spend that on a holiday?’
‘Do you want to be taking Finasteride for the rest of your life?’
I decided I have a whole lifetime to make more money and that getting a hair procedure was more to do something good and nice for myself. However, the thought of taking meds every day, admittedly, held me back.
I view my body as my greatest asset in life and I didn’t want to be dependent on ‘popping pills’ for my cosmetic appearance. However, after researching Finasteride, I deduced that any negative side effects were pretty much short-term and fully reversible.
(I read the horror stories out there too but I calculated, statistically, the risk-to-reward ratio very favourable toward a positive outcome. I'm geeky like that.)
I sourced the Finasteride online (www.hairlossexperiencesshop.co.uk), which came as 5mg tablets that I divided into five smaller bits and took every day. After several months, I had happily encountered no ill effects. At this point, I decided to contact the clinic and book the procedure with Dr Lorenzo.
There was a 10-month waiting list, which was frustrating in the face of my impatience but the time quickly flew by. Before I knew it, I was on an economy plane seat to Madrid. I enjoyed the city, which has a great cultural vibe and is easy to explore, via the metro system. I stayed at a nearby hotel arranged by the clinic.
I met Dr Lorenzo, who speaks perfect English, for a consultation several days before my procedure.
We had conversed online and his personal assessment was that my temporal peaks and hair line would need completely rebuilding. I also had a small gap appearing on my crown that could be filled.
On close inspection of my scalp, Dr Lorenzo also noted that my donor area was excellent (hair, I think, was 53 microns) and suggested a transplant consisting of 3,500 grafts.
(NB. I didn't appreciate at the time that one graft can have several hairs, so the amount of hair that was to be transplanted was much more than 3,500...)
During my consultation, I asked lots of questions that I had written down and he candidly answered every one. His focus throughout my consultation was the pinnacle of professionalism and this put me instantly at ease. I left his office feeling that I was in very safe hands.
On the day of the procedure, I arrived at the clinic very early.
I met Grace, a nurse from the UK who now works with Lorenzo. Grace would be on hand over the next two days to talk me through what was happening. I changed into scrubs and was given a valium. My heart rate was also taken.
My head was shaved and I was asked where I would like my new hairline to be! I decided to let Dr Lorenzo draw the line on. After all, I figured he’s done this a lot more times with a pen than I have.
Just as the valium started kicking in, I was lead to the room where the procedure would take place.
Let's fast forward. What does having a hair extraction feel like?
Well, the short answer is that it feels like having your head pricked with a cocktail stick around 1,500 times!
The procedure began with me laying comfortably on my side whilst I let the anaesthesia take effect. Dr Lorenzo oversaw the extraction team as they began removing my hairs. He performed several extractions himself and guided the team, as required.
I listened to music and even fell asleep several times. Occasionally, I’d feel an extraction, which felt like being jabbed with a sharp stick. More pain relief was promptly given. This procedure went on for about four hours.
With everything considered, the whole process was actually not too bad: about as uncomfortable as flying on a budget airline plane seat for a long haul. Bearable, not terrible...with much a better lunch.
After all the extractions had taken place for the day (1,500 in total) I stretched out and ate some lunch in the kitchen area of the clinic. I chatted with the extraction team and Grace, who was on hand to assist. Everyone at the clinic was very friendly. After a short break, it was time for my extracted hair to be implanted.
What does having a hair transplant feel like?
Again, it feels like having your head pricked with a cocktail stick...a further 1,500 times!
Dr Lorenzo, with a Jedi-like focus, began the procedure of implanting my extracted hairs. I am usually a very chatty guy but, in this case, I had the sense not to interrupt him as he entered a flow state of concentration.
It was at this moment I was supremely glad I had chosen a true expert to perform this intimate type of work –and not got it done on the cheap in a less developed country. With hindsight, I would definitely recommend a 'saving n' shaving' approach when selecting a doctor: it is worth it.
Dr Lorenzo is clearly an artist as well as a surgeon and I sensed that he really took care to make sure every hair was inserted at just the right angle in just the right place.
One by one he added hairs to my scalp. I listened to music and dozed off a few times. After several hours, we were done for the first day. I looked in the mirror and, for the first time in almost two decades, saw that I had hair again!
It was an emotional moment to see how my entire image was being transformed. However, at this stage, my image was more akin to a whimsical Harvey Dent than a handsome Bruce Wayne: there were two distinct sides to my face: one side with hair, one without.
Before departing the clinic for the day, I was given careful, simple instructions on how to look after my freshly transplanted hairs and driven back to my hotel. This mostly involved spraying my head with a saline solution to keep it wet.
Despite having a head like a hairy Swiss cheese, I had a pleasant night’s sleep. I awoke the next day with light trepidation: the sleepy thought of being pricked another 3,500 times was a little disconcerting.
Then I remembered how awesome the prospect of having hair was, which dispelled the negative feelings. At that moment, the hotel shuttle whisked me to the clinic.
I arrived, met the staff and the work continued. I was prepped in the same way as the previous day, and the procedure was repeated.
Poke, poke, poke! The time passed slowly. However, by the end of the day, I had hair. Bruce Wayne achievement: unlocked!
My head was a smattering of red dots but the hardest part was done. That night, I slept carefully in my bed, using a pillow provided by the clinic and, again, spraying my head every few hours with the saline solution. I also took some vitamin D3 to help assist in the healing process.
Before heading home the next day, I attended the clinic for an assessment and a debrief. For those interested, here are some stats from the surgery:
Extractable Grafts: 6,924
Actual Grafts Used: 3,501
Overall Hairs Extracted: 8,477
Total Hairs Used: 42.8%
Hair/graft ratio: 2.42
Temporal: 300 grafts (2.25 hair/ graft)
Parietal: 1,451 (2.41 hair/ graft)
Occipital: 1,750 (2.46 hair/ graft)
Single: 353
Double: 1,488
Triple: 1,497
Quadruple: 159
Quintuple: 4
Sextuple: 0
The procedure had been a success and now the task was up to me to keep my head protected to ensure the optimal conditions for all the transplanted hair to grow and the donor site to heal.
Apparently, it takes nine days for the transplanted hairs to completely take root in their new locations. Dr Lorenzo suggested this happens even more quickly but I fixed my sights on keeping free of any potential stress for the next nine days.
The initial days following the operation were quite challenging in ways I had not anticipated. My head swelled up for a few days due to the lingering aesthetic in my system. I looked like Thanos’ nephew.
Happily, the comical swelling subsided and was then replaced with a bigger challenge.
The donor area was covered in thousands of little scabs that became incredibly itchy. Of course, I was under strict instructions not to scratch. I can imagine the greatest feeling in the world would have been to have scratched those itchy bits…but…I resisted!
However, the itchiness was so severe it descended into a mixture of pain and mental despair. It kept me awake for several days and was far more challenging than the transplant itself.
Eventually, I found relief by applying cold aloe vera gel (kept in the refrigerator) to the affected area of my head, which significantly eased the sensation. After a few days, the itchy condition passed and my sanity returned.
After a few weeks, with the redness of scalp starting to fade, I could enjoy my newly transplanted hair. It even started to grow! Although short, it felt great to have my hairline restored to my younger self.
During this journey, I made a point to tell almost everyone about what I was doing. I decided that trying to hide the obvious is the same thinking that leads to comb-overs.
Lots of my friends were really interested in the procedure and everyone was supportive. Curiously, I think the question I got asked the most was “…how much did it cost?”
After a few weeks, my transplanted hair began to fall out as I entered the so-called ‘ugly duckling’ phase.
I guess no patient likes to see their new hair vanish, even temporarily, so, at this point, I decided to skip the drama and keep my hair super short, returning to my former Jason Stratham look for the next few months. However, this time around, I wasn’t able to use clippers (you have to wait five months) but I got by cutting my hair with scissors.
Short hair made the process of dealing with the changes happening on my head much more manageable. However, as soon as I cut my hair short for the first time, post-op, I made a positive discovery.
–There was no scarring in my donor area!
I had assumed that all the hairs taken from the donor site would leave little-pitted scars. I had seen such pictures, online, of other FUE patients and accepted this as par for the course.
However, I had no scarring at all.
My skin was smooth. I suspect this is because of the extraction technique used and the skill of the extraction team. I was a very happy client indeed and extremely happy I opted for Dr Lorenzo and Injectocappilar.
Life then continued as normal.
After five months I returned to the clinic for a checkup with Dr Lorenzo. I must say he really is a perfectionist and took the time to look closely at my hair and its progress. By five months my hair was beginning to thicken.
There was some concern about the density around my temporal peaks. The hair in this area was a little thinner. Dr Lorenzo concluded that we must wait another five months to see how the hair will progress.
Six months after the procedure I began to let my new hair grow properly. As the hair grew thicker and it was an amazing feeling to look in the mirror and see the same style of hair on my head that I had, fifteen years prior.
After ten months, I returned to see Dr Lorenzo for a second, and final, check-up. The hair had thickened considerably during this interlude. He was very happy with the overall outcome.
He suggested that we could put in 50-250 more hairs in the peaks down the line to thicken them up a little more. This is something I may consider, but it's not really an issue for me at present.
What does transplanted hair look and feel like?
Well, ten months after the procedure, the hair feels exactly like normal hair.
It has all the same sensations when you brush or comb it. Running your fingers through your new hairline feels like it has always been there. The sensitivity of the scalp is identical to before the procedure.
My new hair covers my head perfectly. I now have a hairline and temporal peaks that frame my face very nicely. The patch in the crown of my head has been completely filled, too. Dr. Lorenzo really stretched those 3,500 grafts well.
The density of the transplanted hair at the front is not as thick as my original hair. However, it is pretty thick and from months six to ten (present) the thickness of my hair continues to increase. I’m not sure how it will change looking ahead.
The transplanted hair is slightly darker than the rest of the hair on my head. It blends in perfectly well but I was curious about it. Dr Lorenzo explained that this is because the hair is strong.
The transplanted hair has a slight curl to it. I was informed that this is because the hair is new. As it matures it will resemble the hair on the rest of my scalp. Even if the hair remained curly it would not be an issue.
The donor area appears as thick as before I had the procedure. Upon inspection, it looks as if no hair was actually taken. I wondered if the hair around this area would be thinner but I can’t detect any change. It seems almost like magic.
Dr Lorenzo takes the approach of using transplanted hair sparingly. He’s keen to not exhaust the donor area, whilst maximising coverage. I appreciated his approach in this respect. I learned I have about 21,000 hairs (not grafts!) remaining in the donor area for any future work.
Although I made an effort to tell as many people about my procedure as possible it has been quite fun to meet old acquaintances who didn’t know that I was getting an FUE procedure.
In every case they look at me, with slight befuddlement, and say things like: “...you look younger” or “...there’s something different about you!”
These comments are always positive and some even have expressed an interested in having a transplant themselves.
When I look in the mirror now, I now see myself looking back.
It's fantastic not to have to worry about my hair anymore. It’s almost easy to forget I ever had issues with it falling out. The days of hair-woe now seem long ago, and I have no fear of them returning.
Do you ever wish you could turn back time knowing what you know now? Well, I feel like I am twenty years old again, with all the smarts of a thirty-five-year-old!
It’s a great feeling!
This is, by far, the best money I have ever spent. I see it as an investment in myself.
Looking forward, I am keen to see how my hair matures.
I am delighted that I now have hair that I can style (although I probably won’t be using hair straighteners as much this time!) Recently, I even got a bad haircut from a dodgy barber, which I now consider a high-quality problem!
Overall, I am a supremely happy client and highly recommend Dr Lorenzo and his team. I have gone from having a receding hairline to having hair. The difference feels like night and day!
The level of care and attention he showed throughout my procedure was exemplary. Both He and Grace have been on hand and available to help with questions after the procedure.
Like many others, I believe he is the best hair surgeon in the world. I’m writing this review on my own accord and as a sheer expression of my contentedness.
I hope this gives you an overview of working with Dr Lorenzo or any other FUE professional. These opinions are all my own, so please do your research!
If you have any questions, please ask below! I’ll do my best to answer them. I will check back into this thread every few months over the course of the next year.

John,
That’s got to be one of the most incredible results I’ve ever seen for only 2100 grafts given your level of baldness. You must have incredible hair characteristics to give off that illusion density such a small number over a large area of thinning hair. Dr. Reddy certainly did an excellent job for sure. I’m sure you are ecstatic with the result. I know I would be ?
best wishes,
Bill